For a brief moment, two tornadoes were active at the same time in the Rocky Mountain House area in western Alberta on Saturday, investigators have confirmed. The first tornado southwest of Rocky Mountain House was dissipating just as the second was developing east of the community at about 6:36 p.m. MT, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) out of Western University. Both were rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, which measures tornado intensity according to factors like wind speed and damage. The first tornado tracked toward the southern limits of the town of 8,000, while the second tornado headed east, eventually dissipating northwest of Leslieville. Both had an estimated wind speed of 190 km/h. Several properties were damaged in each event, but no one was injured. NTP’s analysis consists of witness testimony and video, as well as radar imaging of two simultaneous areas of rotation. Rocky Mountain House is located 200 kilometres southwest of Edmonton. NTP has confirmed 27 tornadoes in Alberta this year, the most since 2017, with one month of tornado season remaining. Typically, the province counts about 11 tornadoes each year.
